With development of science and technologies, people have increasingly focused their attentions on the ocean owing to its important strategic position and indefinite economic potential. Meanwhile, people's recognition of the ocean has also further deepened. As transmission of sonic wave is relatively easy in the water, hydroacoustic acoustic detection has been extensively applied to the development of ocean resources. Hydroacoustic imaging technology has become an important approach for large-scale underwater detection.
So far, many imaging sonar detection technologies (such as scanning sonar and multibeam bathmatric sonar) have come into being continuously. Normally, such sonar equipments have resolution capability in the direction of distance and angle. To adapt to underwater operation of various sonar detection instruments, it is usually necessary to obtain 3D information on distance, angle and depth and resolution capability. As a 3D imaging sonar, phased array 3D acoustic imaging sonar can obtain target information on distance as well as horizontal and vertical 3D space, which features in clear image and real-time processing. However, owing to difficulty with its technical development, study of underwater 3D imaging system is only limited to few countries in the world. Presently, Echoscope1600 sonar series as developed by Norway is the relatively advanced 3D imaging sonar in the world. It is available for reconstruction of targets in the 3D environment and extraction of 3D coordinate (X, Y and Z) in the space in addition to imaging of one certain moving target. Therefore, study of real-time phased array 3D acoustic imaging sonar processing system has important and practical engineering value and significance of theoretical guidance.